Stanley Jordan makes guitar tap
Artist's different playing style configures melody and rhythm into a one-man orchestra
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Stanley Jordan's guitar playing still looks crazy after all these years.
The 45-year-old jazz musician, who burst onto the scene in 1985 with the sparkling debut album "Magic Touch," doesn't strum or pick. Instead, Jordan "taps" on the fret board — the neck — of his guitar with both hands, which allows him to "feel" the notes.
Stanley Jordan has been playing his style professionally since 1985. He plays anything from McCartney to Mozart.
Stanley Jordan
When: 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday
Where: One World Theatre, 7701 Bee Cave Road
Tickets: $29-$50
Information: 329-6753
The technique enables him to plays melodies and chords at once, so the audience is hearing a one-man orchestra produce music of mind-blowing complexity.
"The root of this came from the piano," said Jordan during a telephone interview from his home in Sedona, Ariz. "That was my first instrument. "It offers the wide range of tonal qualities of the keyboard, but it still has the expressive stuff from the guitar."
In his two-decade career, Jordan, who plays One World Theatre on Friday, has released a dozen or so CDs, exploring all kinds of music. The latest is "Relaxing Music for Comfort and Bliss," which finds him getting in touch with his inner Buddha.
For the past several months, Jordan has been recording an album with renowned Brazilian musicians Ivan Conti on drums and Dudu Lima on bass at a studio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"There are so many ways to cross-pollinate music," said Jordan, who has a degree in music theory and composition from Princeton University. "In jazz, there's always a lot of room to explore and improvise."
Playing a custom-made VJ electric guitar, he always has been successful at busting genres. Tapping musical heroes ranging from George Benson to Jimi Hendrix, Jordan's live shows are a showcase of sensibility and dynamics.
In addition to a wide range of original material, the guitar master takes Paul McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" on a soaring, spiritual flight, improvising on its vibrant classical-meets-rock melody.
Other longtime highlights in Jordan's concerts include Eric Clapton's "After Midnight" and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Piano Concerto No. 21," as well as sensitive readings of standards such as "Autumn Leaves" and "My One and Only Love."
"Jazz gives you a lot of room to improvise," said Jordan, who practices eight hours a day. "But even if I'm improvising, I stay true to the song."
